Lawmaker Pulls Bill, Citing No Need
Rep. Susan Lynn (photo) has just killed her own bill, at least for now. The Tennessee Republican lawmaker has withdrawn legislation targeting transgender students after vigorous debate earlier this month. HB 2414 would have banned transgender students from accessing restrooms and locker rooms that best comply with their gender identity, mandating that students’ gender be determined by their original birth certificates.
“I have learned that our school districts are largely following what the bill says,” Rep. Lynn told The Tennessean. “I am still absolutely 100 percent in support of maintaining the privacy of all students. But I’m going to roll the bill over until next year so we can work on those issues.”
During debate, lawmaker were told HB 2414 could cost the state Title IX funding, leading Republican Rep. Rick Womick to exclaim, “I don’t care about Title IX.” Rep. Lynn told the committee during debate her bill would “prevent bullying” and “protect students,” which is the exact opposite of the truth.
Later, Tennessee Attorney General told lawmakers HB 2414 could indeed cause the loss of federal Title IX funding, which the Williams Institute put at $1.2 billion annually.
The White House also denounced the legislation.
The Tennessean reports that today, “about 30 pastors from the conservative Tennessee Pastors Network joined the head of the Family Action Council of Tennessee at the State Capitol to show  support for the controversial bill.”
Around the same time, two transgender high school students – Henry Seaton and Jennifer Guenst – headed to Gov. Bill Haslam’s office to deliver more than 67,000 signatures from Tennesseans, including nearly 6,000 people from who identified as clergy or people of faith, who are opposed to the measure.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam still must decide whether to sign or veto another bill targeting transgender people, including students.Â
HB 1840, a “religious freedom” bill, would allow any counselor or therapist to deny service to any LGBT person, or to anyone in general, based on their “sincerely held principles.”
Â
Image via Facebook